[Robbie]

This is why I think the Comcast/NBC deal is a bad idea. Comcast cannot expect to get distribution (or at least equitable distribution) on non-Comcast cable and satellite systems. (What incentive do they have to carry a Comcast channel? Look at the Versus situation.) And therefore I think it is a bad idea for this conference to ally with a provider that will only have somewhat limited distribution.

(And to be clear, I am speaking for myself and not my employer here. I know nothing about the TV side of this business except what I read in the press.)

[Robbie]

This is why I think the Comcast/NBC deal is a bad idea. Comcast cannot expect to get distribution (or at least equitable distribution) on non-Comcast cable and satellite systems. (What incentive do they have to carry a Comcast channel? Look at the Versus situation.) And therefore I think it is a bad idea for this conference to ally with a provider that will only have somewhat limited distribution.

(And to be clear, I am speaking for myself and not my employer here. I know nothing about the TV side of this business except what I read in the press.)

[Redrum]

I know this is a childish, almost halucinatory response, but Comcast is on my list to be shot when the Revolution comes.   They are Exhibit A on what happens when public entities grant monopoly status to private companies.

Ummmm,  the orderlies have noticed my raised voice and wild gesticulations.  They are coming for me.  Thank you for listening.  Gotta run.  

[Redrum]

I know this is a childish, almost halucinatory response, but Comcast is on my list to be shot when the Revolution comes.   They are Exhibit A on what happens when public entities grant monopoly status to private companies.

Ummmm,  the orderlies have noticed my raised voice and wild gesticulations.  They are coming for me.  Thank you for listening.  Gotta run.  

[Farm93]

More bidders only enhances the odds of the Pac-10/12 getting a lucrative deal.  If Fox is alone in the bidding they will certainly not pay a lot.  Fox also could easily predict ESPN\'s probably bidding max.  ESPN seems to have a nice collection of college deals already in the library, so they are unlikely to bid to the numbers the Pac-10/12 hopes to attract.

Finding a true wildcard like Comcast/NBC could really help the bidding math.  The bidding claim probably also helps Comcast/NBC keep any future ND deal lower, a net good for Stanford IMHO.

The idea of appearing on a Comcast created Pac-10/12 network is not great, but even the Big Ten struggled to get their network distributed.  Does anyone really believe that Pac-10 water polo, softball and tennis contests are going to generate brobdingnagian ratings for a major network?

Comcast could also push the Pac-10/12 on to NBC during the fall when ND is away from South Bend, on onto East Coast prime time for Saturday nights, and almost non-stop during the weekends in the winter.  All fine by me.  

Last year, NBC\'s winter sports were dominated by snowboarding and other winter X-Games sports.  Getting a full slate of Pac-10 content could allow NBC to compete with CBS and ABC.  Or to put this a different way, I think Comcast may realize that NBC\'s prime time ratings challenge has been impacted to some degree by NBC\'s inability to offer more traditional weekend sports programming year-round.  Enter the Pac-12.

In the end, I would hope the Pac-12 could get a deal with closer to 100% national coverage most of the time, but I like the idea that new bidders decrease the ability for everyone to predict the size of a winning bid.

[Farm93]

More bidders only enhances the odds of the Pac-10/12 getting a lucrative deal.  If Fox is alone in the bidding they will certainly not pay a lot.  Fox also could easily predict ESPN\'s probably bidding max.  ESPN seems to have a nice collection of college deals already in the library, so they are unlikely to bid to the numbers the Pac-10/12 hopes to attract.

Finding a true wildcard like Comcast/NBC could really help the bidding math.  The bidding claim probably also helps Comcast/NBC keep any future ND deal lower, a net good for Stanford IMHO.

The idea of appearing on a Comcast created Pac-10/12 network is not great, but even the Big Ten struggled to get their network distributed.  Does anyone really believe that Pac-10 water polo, softball and tennis contests are going to generate brobdingnagian ratings for a major network?

Comcast could also push the Pac-10/12 on to NBC during the fall when ND is away from South Bend, on onto East Coast prime time for Saturday nights, and almost non-stop during the weekends in the winter.  All fine by me.  

Last year, NBC\'s winter sports were dominated by snowboarding and other winter X-Games sports.  Getting a full slate of Pac-10 content could allow NBC to compete with CBS and ABC.  Or to put this a different way, I think Comcast may realize that NBC\'s prime time ratings challenge has been impacted to some degree by NBC\'s inability to offer more traditional weekend sports programming year-round.  Enter the Pac-12.

In the end, I would hope the Pac-12 could get a deal with closer to 100% national coverage most of the time, but I like the idea that new bidders decrease the ability for everyone to predict the size of a winning bid.

[raja]

If the next round of negotiating follows the Big Ten\'s BTN (Big Ten Network) model, there will essentially be 2 separate negotiations:

1 - a primary broadcast partner.  Receives first pick of their preferred programming for distribution over their network.
2 - a Pac-10(12?) Network business partner.  The BTN landed a business partner in Fox Sports Net, split the new BTN 51% Big Ten, 49% Fox Sports Net, and the new entity then went out and distributed the remaining games \'left over\' from the primary broadcast partner\'s picks.  The advantage of having a business partner that happened to be a network was twofold - Fox not only knows how to produce television football games, but also *was the negotiating party for local and national distribution networks such as cable networks* - negotiating rates and inclusion in cable packages, etc.

The article seems to conflate the two... but I think we could be looking at two separate types of negotiations in the next round of TV contracts (assuming we create a PTN).

The Comcast-NBC merger - if I understand it correctly - creates a very interesting two-headed negotiating monster.  This hydra could be interested in either being the primary broadcast partner and/or being the Pac Twelve Network\'s business partner.

As a primary broadcast partner, Comcast-NBC would offer a major network (NBC) and sports-oriented cable network (Versus) as carriers in a similar way to ABC-ESPN.  Although Versus is not a major sports franchise (yet), the Comcast-NBC-Universal behemoth carries a plethora of distribution channels that hint at many more ways to spread sporting events... e.g. NBC-Universal owns USA Network, which has carried sports programming.  They own international and foreign language channels like Telemundo.  They own ION television, which not only used to broadcast Conference USA Football, but has 60 television stations around the country, including (I believe) in every Pac 12 television footprint.  Comcast was even considering recently forming an Olympic Sports Network - which also may be in need of programming between actual Olympics.

Wrt the 2nd negotiation - business partner of the PTN - the way the BTN/PTN makes money is by extorting cable networks to pay premium fees to carry the new network.  Comcast is a primary distributor - I believe - in 8 of the PTN\'s main television markets... one could imagine they may be interested in cutting out the middleman.

I do not pretend to be any sort of a fan of Comcast.

But from a business perspective, once the Comcast-NBC-Universal merger is finished, I would not be surprised in the least if they are quite active in the negotiations with the Pac 12.

- MC

[raja]

If the next round of negotiating follows the Big Ten\'s BTN (Big Ten Network) model, there will essentially be 2 separate negotiations:

1 - a primary broadcast partner.  Receives first pick of their preferred programming for distribution over their network.
2 - a Pac-10(12?) Network business partner.  The BTN landed a business partner in Fox Sports Net, split the new BTN 51% Big Ten, 49% Fox Sports Net, and the new entity then went out and distributed the remaining games \'left over\' from the primary broadcast partner\'s picks.  The advantage of having a business partner that happened to be a network was twofold - Fox not only knows how to produce television football games, but also *was the negotiating party for local and national distribution networks such as cable networks* - negotiating rates and inclusion in cable packages, etc.

The article seems to conflate the two... but I think we could be looking at two separate types of negotiations in the next round of TV contracts (assuming we create a PTN).

The Comcast-NBC merger - if I understand it correctly - creates a very interesting two-headed negotiating monster.  This hydra could be interested in either being the primary broadcast partner and/or being the Pac Twelve Network\'s business partner.

As a primary broadcast partner, Comcast-NBC would offer a major network (NBC) and sports-oriented cable network (Versus) as carriers in a similar way to ABC-ESPN.  Although Versus is not a major sports franchise (yet), the Comcast-NBC-Universal behemoth carries a plethora of distribution channels that hint at many more ways to spread sporting events... e.g. NBC-Universal owns USA Network, which has carried sports programming.  They own international and foreign language channels like Telemundo.  They own ION television, which not only used to broadcast Conference USA Football, but has 60 television stations around the country, including (I believe) in every Pac 12 television footprint.  Comcast was even considering recently forming an Olympic Sports Network - which also may be in need of programming between actual Olympics.

Wrt the 2nd negotiation - business partner of the PTN - the way the BTN/PTN makes money is by extorting cable networks to pay premium fees to carry the new network.  Comcast is a primary distributor - I believe - in 8 of the PTN\'s main television markets... one could imagine they may be interested in cutting out the middleman.

I do not pretend to be any sort of a fan of Comcast.

But from a business perspective, once the Comcast-NBC-Universal merger is finished, I would not be surprised in the least if they are quite active in the negotiations with the Pac 12.

- MC

[dabigv13]

This is tangential, but what proportion of Stanford FSN games make it onto one of the Fox College Sports channels (ie FCS-West, not Fox Sports Bay Area, etc.)

Since I can\'t get DirecTV in my NYC apartment, I\'m stuck with Time Warner and the three FCS channels are really my only option.

[dabigv13]

This is tangential, but what proportion of Stanford FSN games make it onto one of the Fox College Sports channels (ie FCS-West, not Fox Sports Bay Area, etc.)

Since I can\'t get DirecTV in my NYC apartment, I\'m stuck with Time Warner and the three FCS channels are really my only option.

[SpokaneLee]

This is tangential, but what proportion of Stanford FSN games make it onto one of the Fox College Sports channels (ie FCS-West, not Fox Sports Bay Area, etc.)

Since I can\'t get DirecTV in my NYC apartment, I\'m stuck with Time Warner and the three FCS channels are really my only option.

Up in Spokane, I think I saw Stanford on TV about 5 times on one of the three FCS channels last year, with about 3 of those games live. The other two were time delayed. With Comcast, I get Fox Sports NW,  but none of the other regional Fox Sports Network channels.  

[SpokaneLee]

This is tangential, but what proportion of Stanford FSN games make it onto one of the Fox College Sports channels (ie FCS-West, not Fox Sports Bay Area, etc.)

Since I can\'t get DirecTV in my NYC apartment, I\'m stuck with Time Warner and the three FCS channels are really my only option.

Up in Spokane, I think I saw Stanford on TV about 5 times on one of the three FCS channels last year, with about 3 of those games live. The other two were time delayed. With Comcast, I get Fox Sports NW,  but none of the other regional Fox Sports Network channels.  

[Farm93]

This is tangential, but what proportion of Stanford FSN games make it onto one of the Fox College Sports channels (ie FCS-West, not Fox Sports Bay Area, etc.)

Since I can\'t get DirecTV in my NYC apartment, I\'m stuck with Time Warner and the three FCS channels are really my only option.

Most of the Stanford FSN Pac-10 games make it to FCS-West.  There are exceptions, but most of the time FCS-West will carry Pac-10 action if it is live.  Occassionally Stanford basketball will get dropped if another Pac-10 game is on FSN-Northwest, for example, that FCS-West can carry.  That does not happen that often, and should happen less often if Stanford can return to the top half of the Pac-12.

If the game is essentially a pure Comcast Bay Area contest, then that is a different matter.  For example, I would be stunned if Stanford vs. Sac State appears on any FCS channel live.  

[Farm93]

This is tangential, but what proportion of Stanford FSN games make it onto one of the Fox College Sports channels (ie FCS-West, not Fox Sports Bay Area, etc.)

Since I can\'t get DirecTV in my NYC apartment, I\'m stuck with Time Warner and the three FCS channels are really my only option.

Most of the Stanford FSN Pac-10 games make it to FCS-West.  There are exceptions, but most of the time FCS-West will carry Pac-10 action if it is live.  Occassionally Stanford basketball will get dropped if another Pac-10 game is on FSN-Northwest, for example, that FCS-West can carry.  That does not happen that often, and should happen less often if Stanford can return to the top half of the Pac-12.

If the game is essentially a pure Comcast Bay Area contest, then that is a different matter.  For example, I would be stunned if Stanford vs. Sac State appears on any FCS channel live.  

[mwang86]

MSG+ and MSG+2 carry some FSN programming which usually includes one or two Pac-10 games a week

But the best bet is just going to a bar.. they all have DirectTV (which actually made it really hard to find a place to watch Big Game last year...)

[mwang86]

MSG+ and MSG+2 carry some FSN programming which usually includes one or two Pac-10 games a week

But the best bet is just going to a bar.. they all have DirectTV (which actually made it really hard to find a place to watch Big Game last year...)

[Farm93]

Ah, the content provider battles continue!

My guess is that the Pac-12 network(s) will NOT appear on DirecTV and/or DishNet for at least a few months if Comcast is behind the content.

[Farm93]

Ah, the content provider battles continue!

My guess is that the Pac-12 network(s) will NOT appear on DirecTV and/or DishNet for at least a few months if Comcast is behind the content.

[Leftcoast]

That\'s been my worry since hearing the Comcast name get thrown in the mix.  

After the whole Versus/Sharks/Big Game scalding last year, surely Stanford would protect themselves and their fans before sticking their hand back in that fire?

[Leftcoast]

That\'s been my worry since hearing the Comcast name get thrown in the mix.  

After the whole Versus/Sharks/Big Game scalding last year, surely Stanford would protect themselves and their fans before sticking their hand back in that fire?

[jaredtodd]

That\'s been my worry since hearing the Comcast name get thrown in the mix.  

After the whole Versus/Sharks/Big Game scalding last year, surely Stanford would protect themselves and their fans before sticking their hand back in that fire?

At the same time, if the money is available, you have to take it.

[jaredtodd]

That\'s been my worry since hearing the Comcast name get thrown in the mix.  

After the whole Versus/Sharks/Big Game scalding last year, surely Stanford would protect themselves and their fans before sticking their hand back in that fire?

At the same time, if the money is available, you have to take it.